Tuesday, October 30, 2018

Drumgooland Church and Graveyard, and High Cross?

We are surrounded by the past.

Not far from us, at Dechomet is an old graveyard, linked with an ancient Church, now gone, and possibly a Medieval High Cross, mysterious in it's provenance.

Recently a fabulous new access path has been made, and as I was nearby, (at Turley's Builder's Merchants) and the sun was shining, I took a look:

the fabulous new access path

an historic artefact in it's own right:
a 19th century flax mill chimney 

the base of the chimney

graveyard entrance

some of the remaining gravestones

still active

most of the upstanding stones were 'savagely' cleared in the 1970's and now line an edge of the site

inscription on the obelisk, marking the enclosure of the site by Arthur, Viscount of Dungannon in 1853

obelisk, and chimney

some amazing inscriptions

the line of gravestones

an overview of the site, after it's savage 'tidying' in the 1970's

beautiful brickwork, and recent repointing

Dechomet village and Mountain,
with School, Turley's Bar, Flax Restaurant, and Turley's builders Merchants

Overview on the Historic Environment map
satellite view

notes about the cross, and the tidying
 There is much more detail here on the Department for Communities website.